paperback
publisher: Pocket Books
published 1997
pages: 151
Blurb:
Roll Call:The Crew of the U.S.S.Excalibur:
Captain Mackenzie Calhoun: An unorthodox, decisive young captain who loves his crew and his ship, and loves testing their limits even more.
Commander Shelby: A woman of strong opinions and strong values, Shelby never hesitated to tell her captains when she thought they were wrong, and Mackenzie Calhoun won’t be any exceptional.
Burgoyne 172: The chief engineer of the Excalibur, with the decisiveness of Calhoun, the strength of Shelby, and the gender both. Burgoyne is a Hermat, and when s/he sets his/her sights on you,s/he isn’t and easy…person…to refuse.
As the Thallonian Empire succumbs to violence to violence and insurrection, the U.S.S. Excalibur p prepares to launch on her humanitarian mission of mercy. But her departure is destined to be a memorable one, as Calhoun contends with an unexpected stowaway, a stormy relationship with his crew, and – light-years away – frightened refugees aboard a dying ship.
In (Very) Short:
+ easy, breezy read
+ new adventure, new crew, new problem and hence no entangling with existing story lines
+ divers group of characters and aliens esp. those not common to the occasional Star Trek viewer
+ multiple perspectives from different crew members
– it’s the length of a novella rather than a novel and thus only deals with individual parts of the overall story line
My Opinion:
Just like the first book, House of Cards (Book on Amazon), this story is quite short and crisp. Maybe even a little short for my taste, but at the same time a great in-between read.
As the overall story line is for the ship to go into the Thallonian Empire, we learn about the Starfleet members that make up the crew of the Excalibur. We get to know their relationships and their animosities towards each other.
Similar to House of Cards, where we learn about the captains back story as well as getting glimpses into the Thallonian Empire, Into the Void also gives the reader inside into different crew members as well as adversaries towards the mission. I thoroughly enjoy the alien component of this stories as we get to read about aliens unseen in the different series and movies.
The novel itself is to short for me personally and ends with a cliffhanger (of course!) leaving the reader hanging as well as ensuring me to buy the next one.
Bottom Line:
I love Star Trek and that’s why I love the book. This is a nice, exiting read that requires imagination as many aliens are visually unknown to the knowledgeable Star Trek viewer. If you don’t like Star Trek…
Rating:
Franzi's Book Chase 